Sense Photonics

Sense Photonics was established in 2016 by co-founders Scott Burroughs, Russell Kanjorski, and Brent Fisher. The trio combined their expertise after a solar panel company they were working for wound down. Burroughs, with 30 years of experience in III-V compound semiconductors and optics, contributed the initial idea; Kanjorski, with a background in finance and strategy, created the pitch deck; and Fisher, an MIT Ph.D., provided concept development.

The company focused on developing solid-state LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensors for the automotive and industrial automation markets. Its core technology was a proprietary Flash LiDAR architecture. This system utilized a laser emitter that sent a single high-power flash of light into the field of view, a departure from traditional systems that use a single, moving laser point. The design was based on a VCSEL (Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser) array and a CMOS SPAD (Single-Photon Avalanche Diode) silicon receiver, allowing it to generate high-resolution 3D point clouds without motion blur. This solid-state approach, with no moving parts, was engineered for enhanced reliability, durability, and cost-effectiveness. The company's product was a 3D time-of-flight camera designed to provide long-range sensing and distinguish intensity even in bright sunlight. One of its key features was MultiRange™, a capability that delivered both long-range, high-resolution data and wider field-of-view, mid-range data simultaneously from a single sensor.

In October 2021, Ouster, Inc. acquired Sense Photonics in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $68 million. Following the acquisition, Ouster established Ouster Automotive, a new division led by Sense Photonics' then-CEO, Shauna McIntyre. The acquisition was intended to accelerate Ouster's solid-state digital lidar roadmap by more than a year by integrating Sense's technology and talent. The deal combined Ouster's digital expertise with Sense's advanced silicon, including over 100 pending patents and an exclusive license to over 250 patents. The joint effort focuses on the Digital Flash (DF) series, a suite of short, mid, and long-range solid-state digital lidar sensors aimed at accelerating the adoption of assisted and autonomous driving solutions in consumer and commercial vehicles.

Keywords: Flash LiDAR, solid-state sensors, automotive technology, VCSEL, SPAD, 3D vision systems, Ouster Automotive, autonomous vehicles, ADAS, sensor fusion